Insurance UGH!!!!!

I talked to the patient rep at my surgeons office the other day and she reviewed my paperwork for me. They didnt get a certain fax and I had to go find it for them. When I found it I also found the fax reciept also from when it was faxed to them previously. I made sure the office manager saw it too. Looking through the paperwork she said that I was still missing three years of weight history, the six month supervised diet, and the H Pylori and UGI tests. The fax paperwork had the weight history on it and although I provided 8 months of Drs notes concerning treatments for my co morbidities, diets etc she said it wasnt good enough and most likely it would get denied if turned in as is. She said I had three good months of notes on diet and attempts to lose weight and that I should arrange to visit my PCP in May, June and July. She said to schedule the July visit for the 1st if possible and get the notes to her to turn in as soon after as possible. I got the H Pylori and UGI tests done yesterday. Right now I think they are running 23 days from approval to surgery so it is looking like MAYBE surgery on around last week of July or the first week or two of August. Oh well. Three months wont kill me I HOPE!!!! LOL Im going to diabetes classes to learn (hopefully) something I didnt know already and also as I guess part of the six month supervised diet thing. Ill be so glad when this is done....

Keep hope alive! I went thru the same thing with faxing over and over again. I use to live out of state so getting my medical records from back home took FOREVER. Id send the request form, they say they never got it. Send it again, theyd get it... then theyd say they sent the records out... my surgeons office never got... the vicious cycle! Some Drs would only *MAIL* the stuff out and it took 4-6 weeks. I have two HUGE manilla enevelopes filled with fax after fax... but hey in the end it was alllll worth it! At least your surgeron has only a 23 day wait time. I got my approval the middle of April and my surgery is the end of June - its FOREVER!

I honestly think things are moving quickly for you. I know your frustrated but I know someone who took over 9 months just for the paperwork/pre op testing phase. It was their dr that kept delaying them. Eventually this person moved to another practice and it still took 3 months for everything to be finished and submitted to the insurance. Dr B will tell you, this is a process and it takes time. This surgery is elective so there's no rush. Ofcourse, on our end there's a rush, we want things done as soon as possible. I found that things worked quickly for me and i didn't have any major headaches. Once I found out I was approved it seemed to take a while but it was during the thanksgiving/xmas season and I didn't want surgery during xmas. Everything is worth it, but you gotta be patient. We live in an instanious world with instant gratification, while waiting makes us angry. Somethings cannot be rushed. Secondly, the surgeon's work alot, they do surgeries, see patieints, then go back to the hospitals and check on their patients. They are only 1 man and with WLS picking up steam as it has, I predict the waits will be even longer in the future. Stay away from the women who drive you nuts and stay patient. Maybe you can find something to do hobby wise in the mean time. Staying busy helps. I obsessed about the surgery everyday. Now, it seems like it was months ago, eventhought i'm only 3 months out as of this weekend. Patience is a virtue. Jennifer